to recover “black money” stashed away in tax havens abroad. Political finance accountability is another key issue. There are no limits to individual donations, and corporate donations are hardly ever questioned because elections expenses are Letter grossly underreported. The Election Commission has insti- tuted measures to create enhanced transparency and closer scrutiny of financing and election expenses. It is pushing the government for electoral reforms that help track sources of to political funding. When will India have a corruption be gov- ernment and bureaucracy? - Laxman Saxena Change the law and allow married The priests and women priests The Catholic Church need to open up to the new world. The problem is not with God, but with an all-male clerical cul- Editor ture that views women as lesser than men. Though I am not optimistic, I pray that the newly elected Pope Francis will re- think this antiquated and unholy doctrine and allow married clergy to serve and for women to be ordained priets of the Catholic Church. - Melissa Cruz Pope Benedict Resigns NARENDRA MODI, THE FUTURE Your cover story on Pope Benedict was very enlightening. PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA, IS AN As the sun set on Rome and on his turbulent eight-year pa- ICON OF RESURGENT INDIA pacy, Pope Benedict XVI, a shy theologian who never seemed After playing a hat trick in Gujarat elections, Narendra entirely at home in the limelight, retired to a life of prayer, Modi’s stock has considerably gone up and he has emerged study, walking in the garden and piano practice, he lefet in his as the most dominant, dynamic and charismatic national leader. wake a Vatican hierarchy facing scandals and intrigue that are His election as Chief Minister of Gujarat has also exposed the casting a shadow over the newky elected Pope, who is given diabolical designs of deadly combination of Leftist-Islamic the challenge to clean of the mess at the Vatican. fundamentalist axis, anti-Hindu and anti-national forces; and - Xavier Thomas has emboldened patriotic forces all over India. The entire na- Modi Fiasco at Wharton tional political landscape has been completely transformed. Since the retraction of Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s He is held in high esteem all over India. This election has invitation to the Wharton School, events continue to unfold proved beyond any shadow of doubt that Sonia Gandhi and ominously. The opportunity for public discourse, multiple Rahul Gandhi are no match for Narendra Modi, the Man with perspectives expressed in an open and civil manner, has been Capital “M”. Narendra Modi is considered as an icon of resur- lost at least twice. The result is an increasing vitriolic that gent India. He is an epitome of vigor and vitality. He has cre- targets faculty and students at the University of Pennsylva- ated confidence and respectability in the mind of an average nia for exercising critical judgment and free speech. Free speech Indian about his glorious past which had been designated as is essential to institutions of higher education and the democ- a dirty word in the lexicon of pseudo-secularists. racies that foster them. It is imperative to nurturing the critical The idiosyncratic projection of Hindus as an enemy of the thinking skills that are the hallmarks of a quality education. nation from within as made explicit by his ‘Hindu terror’ re- But, in an ironic twist, Mr. Modi’s supporters are using their mark recently by no less a person than Sushil Kumar Shinde in right to free speech to mount personal attacks against critics his official capacity as the country’s Home Minister, has terri- and, in fact, silence dissent. bly offended the sensibilities of 850 million Hindus and has - Praveen Shah given further boost to Narendra Modi as the next nationalist When Will India Achieve Equitable Growth? Prime Minister of India. There have been several Hindu Muslim riots in UP, In 2001, 54 percent of all Indian children were stunted; Maharshtra and West Bengal, but there has not been any despite a decade of rapid economic growth that saw per capita Hindu Muslim riot or even a terrorist attack in Gujarat during income expand from $460 to $1,489, this number has only his tenure. This is a positive reflection on his capability to dropped to 48 percent. Twelve percent of children work. contain terrorism. Roughly a fifth of girls are married by age 15. India’s long-term The invitation from European Union Lawmakers to economic growth cannot be sustained without improving liv- Narendra Modi to attend the European Parliament in Novem- ing standards for the poor. When will the entire India can ber this year has added one more feather in his cap. shine as agaiant a portion of the country’s more than abbillion American Lawmaker Mr. Faleomavaega, Ranking Member population? MAR-APR 2013 of House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia’s request to MAR-APR 2013 - Aravind Sachdeva the U.S. Government to support openly and fully the vision Corruption Continues Unabated and ideas of Gujarat Chief Minister has further raised Gujarat Despite a strong legal framework in India, the anti-corrup- Chief Minister’s status in the eyes of American Congress. Era Era tion agency is perceived as ineffective. Major corruption scan- This has also unnerved “paid media” and “anti-national NGOs” dals brought to light in 2011 under robust right-to-information in India who have unleashed a politically-motivated blitzkirk measures and media investigations dominated public dis- to denigrate and malign Shri Modi for several years. course. Anti-corruption activists mobilized citizens, and the That is the reason senior BJP leades like Yeshwant Sinha, government committed itself to fundamental anti-corruption Ram Jethmalani, Mahesh Jethmalani, Shatrughan Sinha, VHP reforms. Two issues stand out: the demand for the Lokpal, a Chief Ashok Singhal and several RSS leaders are openly sup- national (and also at the state level) ombudsman, and action porting him to be the next PM candidate. TheAsian TheAsian - Narain Kataria 66 March-April 2013 THE COMPLETE MAGAZINE FOR THE GLOBAL ASIAN In Defense of Marriage Editorial In the past few months, the nation’s focus has been on the US Supreme Court Publisher&CEO Ginsmon P Zacharia taking up the two cases relating to the institution of marriage. The Defense of Mar- Chief Editor Ajay Ghosh riage Act passed by the US Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton into law in Director Paul J Murphy 1996 has increasingly become outdated in the minds of many people, particularly with (Europe Operations) nine states signing gay marriage into law despite it. Now the legality of the Act, Director Sebastian Joseph something that really wasn’t questioned before when people were against gay mar- (Business Development) riage, is being called into question and could change the way we have understood Legal Advisor Anand Ahuja Esq marriage forever. Corporate Advertising Dominic Chackonal The Court will make a determination as to if the Constitution require that people be Graphic Designer Jinu John Mathew allowed to marry whom they choose, regardless of either partner’s gender? The fact Published By that the question was in front of the Supreme Court at all was startling, given that no state recognized same-sex unions before 2003 and 40 states still don’t allow them. DELIGHT MEDIA Inc. Several states have also expanded the legal rights available to spouses in same-sex P.O.Box-139 relationships while also limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples with civil unions East Meadow, NY-11554 and domestic partnerships. Tel.516- 776- 7061 At the center of this discussion is also the economic burdens the same sex couples Fax.516 -882- 7257 are asked to bear. Despite their marriage certificates, gay and lesbian spouses cannot Europe get tax-free health benefits from their employers. They can’t file joint federal tax re- Delight Media UK Ltd turns, as heterosexual married couples can. If gays or lesbians divorce, any alimony is Tel:+44 29205 49977 considered a gift subject to taxation, while for opposite-sex couples, it’s tax-free. And +44 78840 21626 when a spouse dies, the widow or widower is liable for inheritance taxes; heterosexual couples enjoy a marital deduction. India Paul D. Clement, who served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush Office Address: The Asian Era, 375 A, defended the 1996 law on behalf of House Republicans in the Court, arguing that the Pocket - 2, Mayur Vihar Phase - 1, Delhi, federal government was entitled to use a uniform definition of marriage across the India - 110 091 Tel: +91 9971407120 nation. The religiously conservative groups argue that the attempt to “redefine” mar- Asian Era riage to include two persons of the same sex denies the reality of what marriage is. Prananam Complex Because men and women are “complementary,” they bring different gifts to a relation- Erumathala p.o.Aluva ship. In marriage, the complementally of husband and wife is expressed very clearly in India,Pin 683112 the act of conjugal love, having children, and fathering and mothering –actions that Tel:+ 91 484 2838763 call for the collaboration – and unique gifts – of husband and wife. They argue that Fax:+91 484 2838764 marriage is not just about satisfying adult desires, but is a pro-child institution. The Web Site: www.asianeraonline.com community of the family is built upon the communion of the spouses E-mail [email protected] Some argue that, because a majority of the US citizens, as been indicated in recent polls, approve of gay and lesbian marriage, does that allow for the change of the definition of marriage? Or can the state alter an institution that is as old as that of human existence, or undertake to change the very understanding of marriage in the Asian Era Magazine is Published Bimonthly, name of equal rights? Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington, is now By Delight Media Inc.Views Expressed in this Publication are not necessarily those of pursuing litigation in Utah, saying if there is a right to same-sex marriage, then there is thePublication and accordingly no liability is a right to polygamy.